Fans gather in SoHo to celebrate life of Carrie Fisher

SOHO, Manhattan (WABC) -- Fans across the world continue to honor and celebrate the life of actress Carrie Fisher in different and unique ways.

Since news of her death Tuesday, her latest book, "The Princess Diarist," is on top of Amazon's list of best-selling books. Several of her other books are in the top ten.

Many are surprised to learn that the late actress, best known for her role as "Princess Leia" in the Star Wars franchise, never received a star on the Hollywood "Walk of Fame."

Her fans have taken that issue into their own hands and covered one of the blank stars to pay tribute to her. One fan took it upon himself to paste on letters spelling out Fisher's name and the famous phrase "May the Force be with you."

Meanwhile, one fan in New York Wednesday came up with his own way of honoring her memory.

Hakki Akdniz, owner of Champion Pizza in Soho, welcomed fans of Fisher and the Star Wars universe to celebrate her life. Everyone dressed in Star Wars costumes got a free slice of pizza.

Akdniz, who met Fisher in 2005, said she and the Star Wars cast hold a special place in his heart. Originally from Turkey, he says he learned English from Fisher and the rest of the "Star Wars" gang.

Fisher was well aware her most famous role overshadowed the rest of her career, but she made her peace with that, willingly saying 'yes' when she was asked to reprise the role in last year's "The Force Awakens."

"I've been Princess Leia for 40 years," Fisher said in a Good Morning America interview. "So what? I'm gonna stop

now when it's really ridiculous to be someone named princess leia?!"

Fisher starred in plenty of other movies but she was most celebrated in Hollywood for her writing. This includes scripts like the one she wrote for the film based on her book "Postcards from the Edge," loosely based on Fisher's own struggles with addiction.

Her choice to be so honest and forthcoming about her mental illness led to a greater understanding of bi-polar disorder

"The world of manic depression is a world of bad judgement calls," she said, "just all kinds of bad judgements because it all seems like a good idea at the time."

Fisher told ABC's Diane Sawyer back in 2000, she accepted her chemical imbalance and later wrote about it in a memoir that became a one-woman

show, "Wishful Drinking." She admitted she had found a measure of peace.

The late star had a less visible role as a "script doctor" -- brought in to punch up jokes on comedies just before they started filming such as Maggie Smith's dialogue in "Sister Act."